Cornerstone PLUS

I wanna tell you a story. It is in fact a absolutely true story, and I know that because I've told this story many, many years ago, that people will come up afterwards and think I'm not telling, truth. I am. In fact, if anything, I'm not exaggerating, I'm dumbing it down a bit. Because it is such a remarkable story.

And it happened to me many, many Christmases ago when I was quite a bit younger, and I was working in London with the homeless people in London. And, that was people that lots of people have to sleep on the streets. And back in those days, in London, there were 14000 people sleeping on the streets at night. And my job, it was a sort of voluntary job was to to work among them. And I'd just come from a great big house that you could get some of these people in, it's called Bruce House.

It's it's still there, the building, but it isn't, a house for for homeless people anymore. It was a hot it's a horrible, horrible place, an old Victorian brock of, flats, really. And I was walking along this very famous road called drury Lane, And as I was walking along, there were big flats either side, so it was a dark sort of tunnel of the road. And it was sort of Christmas time ish, and I was walking along, and I heard some coins fall on the floor. And I thought it was the tourists.

There was a couple of tourists in in front of me, and I thought, oh, they've dropped their money. So I picked it up. And I said, said to them loudly, excuse me, excuse me, and they obviously didn't speak English. They turned around and looked very frightened. And I came running towards him with my hands out because I've picked this money up that I thought was theirs, and they ran away.

They were German and they were shouting something sort of strange to me and they just ran which was odd. So I thought okay. Well, I don't know what to do. It wasn't enough money to, take to the police station, so I just put it in in my pocket. And as soon as I did that, I heard other coins falling on the floor strange in the middle of drury lane.

I looked around, there wasn't anyone around. And so, and I'll say, what's going on? Where do these coins come from? Very strange. So I pick them up.

And just as I finished picking up the last coin that fell, more coins fell. I looked up in the sky. No helicopters, no planes, no 1 around in the blocks of flats, but lots of money on the floor. So I got down and I started picking them up. And just as I finished picking up the last coin that I could see, more money came from the sky.

Now I was a little bit ready this time because as I was picking up, I was like, no 1 there. No 1 there, no 1 on the roof, no 1 in the in the windows. Where is this money coming from? So I carried on picking up. Now, there used to be a program when I, at that time, on the TV, on the television, called candid camera.

And it's where they used to do really silly things to people in public and film them and then make them look silly on the telly. So I thought I'm on candy camera and I thought well if I'm gonna be on candy camera, I'm gonna be on candy camera. So I'm gonna make a meal of this. So I was jumping around like this. Shouting out.

I wasn't in a suit or tie. Shouting out Come on. Bring the money down. And now I've shaven shouting out, send the 50 p's, and then I thought, no, 50 p on the head. That would hurt.

10 pound notes. Now, I was only earning 5 pounds a week in those days. 5 pounds a week. Because it was a voluntary job, and that was just to to help with with, sweets, basically. And, and so, I was pleased that all this money falling down.

So, but when I noticed this, this was quite interesting, which was even sort of weirder than the money coming from from from the pennies from heaven. I was shouting out. Come on, send down the money. And looking up, could not see anyone where that was coming. But the weirdest thing was not so much the money falling.

I never found out where it came from, or whether I was on candid camera, The weirdest thing was the response of of other people. What other people did to this money falling from the sky? Drewery Lane's a very famous road in London. So there are a lot of people walking up it. And I noticed that the first thing was to this money coming from and falling on the ground was that some people walked by as if it was just rain.

If it was water coming down, they seemed to be in a hurry. It's just like this happened every single day. Money falling from the sky. And they just walk past very hurriedly about their business and didn't even look at this madman in the middle of the road saying send down the money, send down the money. So that was 1 strange response.

If they walk past as if nothing special was happening, the second response was that a crowd formed. And quite a big crowd, not as big as that, but a big crowd did form on the side of the road, on the path and watched the action. No, I don't blame them because this is weird. People were looking up to see where the money was coming from. People were looking down.

People were looking at me. So a crowd form. Now my job, actually, at the time, was not only helping the homeless, but was to tell people about Jesus. It's still my job now. So wherever there was a crowd, I was more than happy.

So I had a crowd to tell about Jesus to, but they just looked on. Very odd. And then someone came from the crowd, and I thought it was about time and started picking the money up. And then do you know what he did with it? What?

He gave it to me. I was the 1 getting rich out of this. So there are the 4 responses to the money coming down from heaven, pennies from heaven, the 4 responses. People walk past as if it was nothing special. That's odd, isn't it?

Don't you think that's odd? Yeah. Would you walk past if money was falling from the sky and there was a weird bloke. No. It's a very odd thing.

People watched. I think I get that watching this sort of event going on. It was strange. People picking up the money. I get that, but giving it to me, I was the only 1 who got rich from it.

And I did quite well. Out of the money that came down. Now that actually happened to me. In fact, I could tell you what happened afterwards, but I'm not going to. Because why am I telling you this?

Well, it's it's obvious, and you've probably connected it. But there's a Christmas story, isn't there? God has given a gift. God actually has come down. It's not pennies.

It's something much better. In the reading that I started with, right at the beginning of the service, it talks about Jesus being called Jesus because he will save people from their sins, their failures before god. He's coming. It also said that his name will be emmanuel god with us. And it's in a wonderful name, Emmanuel.

God with us. God with us. And this very famous sentence from the Bible probably 1 of the most fame well, definitely 1 of the most famous sentences in the entire world. Says this, for god so loved the world that he gave his 1 and only son, but whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. God with us in Jesus.

God with us Jesus coming to the earth, not pennies, not money, not just riches of this world, but god himself I mean, this year we've been celebrating 50 years since the first man stepped on the moon. And it's quite remarkable, and some of us can remember that and watching it on old black and white TV. It's an amazing thing. 1 small step for man. 1 giant leap for mankind.

And all the arguments about did he use A or did he not use A if you know the story, you'll know that. But it's a wonderful thing that man could go on the moon, but it's so much more incredible. That today we celebrate that god put his foot on the earth. Emmanuel god with us. We're not alone in the universe.

We're not alone on this planet. You don't have to be alone through the difficult times that you go through. God, with us, in the person of his son, the lord Jesus Christ, It is a marvelous thing that god came down, not pennies, not just riches, not just advice, not religion, not instruction. God came down. That's what we're celebrating today.

God came down. Not pennies, but the richest 1 in the universe. And because he came down, he can make us rich because riches came down at Christmas. Look at this sentence in the Bible. For you know the grace of our lord, Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, here we are, yet for your sake he became poor that through his poverty, me, we might become rich, not money riches.

But real riches. Here was the richest 1 in the universe because he is the creator of the universe, the word of god. The maker of heaven and earth, the maker of everything in all of the universe. And and there's a demonstration of this rich 1 becoming poor because there was no room for him, even in a in an inn which would be a a massive step down. But he had to go into and be placed into a manger a place where animals ate their food out of.

He was rich, but he became poor. He's big, became small. He's so big. But he could become small and he's strong and it became weak and the creator of all the universe. Came down to be created.

God in a womb, in a dark little place, being born. Imagine that. Imagine the that he's come down. I mean, we see all the little babies. We love it.

We've got 2 chris there's lots of people for the first time their first Christmas because we've had so many babies in this church. And, and we've got ASHA there for the first time. Are you holding him up, or is he doing something? He's fast asleep, blue? Little how many days old is ASHA?

What? 4 days. 1 time god of the universe was 4 days old like ASHA. This great create, imagine the frustration of being the greatest artist in the world, and the only art you can do is to fill a nappy. Isn't that extraordinary?

That god could do this, that he's the free 1 that creates everything, but he was confined to a little baby's body. He was big, but he became small. And he came to make us rich. And that's what it's all about. This is this big swap is this a big swap?

It comes to make us rich because actually we're really poor. We are very very rich in the world. I mean, we're living in the rich fifth of the world, we're rolling in it. No one's gonna go hungry today, but many in the world are gonna go hungry. So we're very rich in the world's point of view, but Rich toward god?

Rich to are we rich toward god? No. We're poor. We failed him. We don't even know him.

Some people say that he doesn't even exist. That's how poor we are. When it's so obvious he does. He gives us all his gifts and we stomp around saying, I'll just take them and I won't even give thanks. We're like little baby angry children to god.

We're poor when it comes to god. God tells us to do things and we say no. Who do you think you are? Well, he thinks he's god. That's who he is.

He has a right to tell his creatures what to do. How dare he? You know? That's how poor we are in relation to him. And yet, Jesus was always with the father for all eternity and he's come down with his riches, and he became poor, particularly on the cross.

He became poor, particularly dying. So that we could know all the riches of forgiveness and a new start. And god is our father and our friend. We could be truly, truly rich indeed. Riches came down because emmanuel came down.

But love came down at Christmas. Look at our verse again. For god so loved the world that he gave his 1 and only son. Wouldn't it be good? Surely, this has gotta be right, hasn't it?

That you would know the love of god. We're living in a world that is becoming more and more loveless And even the loved ones that you know, they fade, don't they and go? But to know the love of god in Jesus. Wouldn't that be amazing? Love came down at Christmas, but then a savior came down at Christmas.

He's come to rescue us from our look at our verse again. Look, for god so loved the world that he gave his 1 and only son, but whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Life, not death. But living, not eternal sort of grinding on and getting older and older, but actually life and energy and being reinvigorated and knowing the wonder and glory of god and more creation and all of the beauty of a world without sin and without hurt and pain and suffering and death. He's come to bring us this new life where there is a city without a graveyard, it says in the Bible.

Isn't that amazing? He's come to save us from ourselves and our stupidity and the habits and the grumpiness we get into. He's the savior. God's gift, this Christmas, it is a wonderful gift But here is what I wanna say to you. What are you gonna do with the gift that's come down at Christmas?

Most of us have been many christmases, and still some people walk past as if nothing's happened. Isn't that extraordinary? They walk past as if God hadn't come down, as if this riches hadn't thrown himself into our world. They walk past. There's nothing.

Nothing to me. That's extraordinary. Now, that's not you because you're here. But this could be you You're a crowd watching. You like the the exhibition.

You love the story. You're watching this mad bloke. And perhaps you're watching, and you're still on the sidelines, and you're watching. God has come down at Christmas, to rescue us, to bring us love, to bring us the treasures of knowing him, and we're just watching. There are others and we know this that love the story so much.

They love telling their children it. It's for the children. Some of your parents like that. Long, I must go to church because we want the children to hear the story, and you're giving us, but what about you? This isn't just a children's story.

This is for you. Do you just give it away? Or you could be like me, and I sorry to build myself up here, but I was so poor. I needed anything I could get ahold of. I was so poor that I really, I needed the riches, and so I was happy to look a fool.

And pick up the money and receive the money. Have you ever done that with Jesus? For god so loved the world that he gave his 1 and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, for god did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him, whoever believed in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of god's 1 and only son. See, the negative here is, god has sent his son. And in 1 sense, in 1 sense, the only sin that now is damnable is turning away from this love of god in Jesus.

Isn't that amazing? He's come down to show the love of god, and we'll say I will not believe. I'll stay in my darkness. I'll pretend it hasn't happened. It's for other people.

It's not for me. And I want to encourage you this Christmas. When you give the gifts out, this will be really annoying. You'll try and forget it. When you give the gift out, remember god gave his gift And as you receive the gift from someone, will you receive Jesus from God?

Will you? No eternal life with him.